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2014 Boston Gameday HQ

rookie to play is suddenly necessary.
Sometimes the rooks are brought up in September when Major
League Baseball allows its clubs to expand to 40-man rosters.
Sometimes the first-year players even play a lot, especially when their
respective teams are out of the running for playoff positions.
And sometimes rookies make their major-league debuts in late
March/early April, when the baseball season officially begins.
Because MLB has lenient rules on what constitutes a rookie—
basically 50 innings pitched or 130 at-bats or 45 days on a major-league
25-man roster—you may see 2014 rookies who actually already have
major-league experience from 2013.
Clockwise from top left: Miami Marlins’ Taijuan
Walker, New York Mets’ Travis d’Arnaud, Cincinnati
Reds’ Billy Hamilton, New York Yankees’ Masahiro
Tanaka, L.A. Dodgers’ Alex Guerrero and Chicago White
Sox’ Jose Abreu.
Such is the life of a big-league prospect. On call all year long, from
one year to the next.
The blue-chip rookies on this list are no exception.
Some are starting with their big-league clubs in April.
Some are going down to the minor leagues now, but may
be back in May.
And others may spend most of 2014 in the minors, but also could
make the big splash with their big-league clubs this September.
The following six, however, are likely starters beginning and April,
and if all works out accordingly, one of them will be named Rookie of
the Year at the end of the season.
OTTO GREULE JR.; KIRK IRWIN; GEORGE GOJKOVICH; MIKE MCINNIS; RON VESELY/GETTY IMAGES SPORT; GARY BOGDON/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED